Tag: Gas

EU legislation on gas supply security has yet to set the right market obligations to ensure new infrastructure is built where it is needed, Jacques Laurelut, president of Gas Transmission Europe (GTE), told EurActiv in an interview.

Grid operators and utilities on Tuesday (24 November) said planned expansion of Spain's booming renewable energy sources must be matched by raised output from gas-fired plants, which can cover emergency shortfalls.

An agreement easing the terms under which Russia supplies gas to Ukraine, reached on 19 November between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukraine colleague Yulia Tymoshenko, appears to alleviate fears of another gas crisis this winter.

Moscow last week ordered oil companies to use "up to 95%" of the gases associated with petroleum extraction in a move designed to bank on the "billions of roubles" of gas wasted every year, the Kremlin announced.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Slovenia's approval on 14 November for the South Stream pipeline, undermining European Union efforts to reduce dependency on Russian gas supplies.

The likelihood of renewed gas supply disruptions in Europe this winter has serious implications for the image of gas in the long run, Walter Boltz, chair of Austrian energy regulator E-Control, told EurActiv in an interview.

Turkey wants to help the EU to realise the Nabucco pipeline project by acting as a broker for securing natural gas supplies from Iraq and Qatar as well as Iran at a later stage, the country's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, told EurActiv.

Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told the European Parliament today (2 September) that the EU-sponsored Nabucco gas pipeline could not fail, despite attempts by Russia to undermine the project by speeding up work on the rival 'South Stream' pipe.

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has acquired a majority stake in the Turkish Bosphorus Gas Corporation, hoping to boost its investment and become a powerful player in the future strategic Eurasian gas hub to be established in Turkey, the Russian press announced on 19 August.

The European Investment Bank is ready to help finance the 7.9 billion euro Nabucco pipeline and to look closely at the concept of creating a single gas purchaser to ensure the project is viable, the bank said on 23 July.

The European Commission yesterday (16 July) proposed a new regulation on the security of gas supplies, obliging member states to take pre-emptive measures to avoid disruptions in the wake of a January dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

Four EU countries and Turkey signed an agreement yesterday (13 July) on the legal framework for the Nabucco gas pipeline, which is expected to decrease Europe's dependence on Russian gas. Iraq has pledged to supply the pipeline with half of its capacity, without giving a detailed timeframe.

The antitrust watchdog of the European Union is cracking down on the dominance of E.ON and GDF-Suez in the gas markets in their home countries, as it tries to open former monopolies to competition.

Energy experts and editorialists in Moscow derided yesterday’s (2 July) EU recommendation to fill up gas storage quickly while prices were low in order to prepare for a potential supply disruption this winter after tensions between Russia and Ukraine resurfaced over a payment row.

As leading EU countries are advocating alternatives to full EU membership for Turkey, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week that Ankara should speed up reform instead of breeding unrealistic expectations during its accession process.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso warned EU leaders at a summit today (19 June) that European nations must avoid sleepwalking into another gas crisis, which he said could hit Europe within weeks as tensions between Ukraine and Russia resurface.

Ukraine needs $4 billion in credits to buy Russian gas for its underground storage areas and hopes to raise the funds through European banks, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on 16 June.

Experts from Washington have called on the EU to be more daring and propose closer ties with its large Eastern neighbour. But European Commission officials told EurActiv that the current mood in Europe was not exactly in tune with such an approach.

Current stocks in the Ukraine will be too low to ensure normal flows of Russian gas to Europe this coming winter, Moscow warned yesterday (26 May), saying disruptions could occur if Kiev does not find the money to replenish reserves.

Italy's Eni and Russian state-owned firm Gazprom signed agreements on the South Stream gas pipeline project on 15 May, just days ahead an EU-Russia summit later this week where Europe will attempt to speak with a single voice on foreign energy relations.

The construction phase for the project, which is designed to bring Russian gas directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine, is due to start in April 2010, EurActiv has learned.

Europe's largest terminal for receiving giant tankers of liquefied natural gas officially opened on 12 May in Wales, against a backdrop of ample supplies and weak demand.

Foreign ministers from Armenia and Azerbaijan held talks in Washington with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 5 May, ahead of an important EU gas summit this week which is expected to boost support for the Nabucco gas pipeline project.

Boosted by carbon trading schemes, natural gas will be the "preferred energy option" in decades to come, experts believe.